QikServe appoints Don DeMarinis as Chief Commercial Officer

Former Oracle and MICROS vice president joins ordering technology firm to support global growth in the hospitality sector

QikServe, the multichannel ordering and payment specialist, today announced it has appointed Don DeMarinis as its Chief Commercial Officer. DeMarinis assumes responsibility for QikServe’s global business development activities, and will support a major sales growth and recruitment drive in the United States.

DeMarinis is a recognized leader in the hospitality industry, with more than 30 years’ executive experience in the sector, the majority of which spent helping hospitality operators better invest in and utilize technology. Bringing a wealth of experience in engaging and delivering digital solutions for enterprise customers, he joins QikServe from technology startup, Dovetail Solutions serving as Chief Revenue Officer. At Dovetail Solutions, he developed their sales strategy to bring Dovetail’s “Gusto” point of sale platform to the US market. Prior to Dovetail, DeMarinis worked at technology giant Oracle, where he was vice president responsible for Oracle Hospitality’s global sports, entertainment and foodservice management business.

In 2014, Oracle acquired MICROS Systems where DeMarinis was vice president of the leisure and entertainment business unit. He held full responsibility for the POS firm’s food and beverage relationships in the sports and entertainment, hotel, casino, and cruise verticals in North America. At MICROS, DeMarinis grew top line revenue from $37M in 2012 to more than $60M in 2015.

This latest appointment follows QikServe’s £2.7 million (US$3.4 million) funding round in January, which was primarily intended to support U.S. sales growth of its platform that enables restaurant customers to order and pay for food and drinks from a smartphone, tablet or self-service terminal. One of DeMarinis’s key early goals will to build out the company’s U.S. sales force in support of its growth objectives.

“We are delighted to welcome Don to the QikServe team and are looking forward to working together to build a hugely successful global business,” said Daniel Rodgers, CEO, QikServe. “He will use his knowledge and experience to build a world-class sales team that will deliver key U.S. sales growth and help hospitality operators transform the way they do business.”

“I have witnessed several game-changing advances in hospitality technology over the years, but nothing as significant as the move towards mobility and self-service, which is not simply an evolution in technology, it is a shift in how operators engage with their customers,” said Don DeMarinis, CCO, QikServe. “QikServe is uniquely positioned to be the dominant player in the global marketplace for self-service and mobile solutions, with a solid product strategy, supported by a talented and passionate team that I am thrilled to join. The “point of sale” is increasingly at customers’ finger tips and I’m joining QikServe to become an influential part of that evolution.”

QikServe’s patented technology allows hospitality operators to provide the ability to order and pay for food and drinks directly from any device. Using QikServe, guests can use mobile devices, self-service kiosks or web sites to order exactly what they want, when they want it. QikServe is available as a standalone, customer-branded app or can be fully integrated into hospitality operators’ existing mobile apps and POS platforms. It makes use of technologies such as in-store beacons or QR codes to alert customers to download and use the app. Once logged into the application, guests can open their check, add to their order, customize meals or room-service orders and pay for them from within the app. With Gold Partner status in Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN), QikServe is fully integrated into Oracle Hospitality’s Point of Sale (POS) platform; therefore customers who use Oracle’s POS solution can quickly deploy a fully-branded mobile order and payment service for their diners.

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